Dissecting iTunes, App Store and Mac App Store links

For the latest release of Consume, we wanted to include two buttons: one that linked to all our apps on the

App Store, and another that let users easily write a review on iTunes. These both seem like common things iOS developers would want to do, so we decided to share the results of our research. Some of the information contained below is obvious for experienced iTunes users, while other links are rarer.

Copying links from iTunes

Most links can be copied directly from iTunes. Simply right click (Mac & PC) or control-click (Mac) on a button or linked text in iTunes and select Copy Link.

On Mac or Windows, this link will open your web browser (if you’re not already in it), then open iTunes and the artist’s page (The Chemical Brothers, in this case).
On an iOS device, the link opens iTunes and loads the artist’s page. iTunes Link Maker tool also lets you create a link to a developer’s apps.

The link functions as expected on iTunes for Mac and Windows, opening up the developer’s page. Unfortunately,
it doesn’t work on iOS devices—it opens the iTunes app then gives an error. This is probably
because the App Store app doesn’t actually have a page that lists all apps by a developer.

There is a way around the problem though.

Searching and linking with iTunes.com

iTunes.com URLs provide a great method for jumping to search results or directly to an item. If the search produces multiple results,
you’ll land on a search results page. If the search produces a single result, then you’ll be taken directly to the item.

This searches for songs, movies, TV shows, artists, developers or any item on the iTunes Store.
If the name of the item you’re linking to contains spaces or punctuation, you’ll need to strip them out.
You might have issues using this method to link to a single item for common names, as they’ll yield multiple results (try a search for
“Dreams” or “Party” if you don’t believe me).

It’s also possible to link to all apps by one developer, but there’s a catch. On a Mac or a PC, this will open iTunes and land
on a developer’s page. On an iOS device it’ll do a bit of a dance, opening MobileSafari, then iTunes, then the App Store app.
Not ideal, a bit ugly and slow, but it gets there in the end.

If you’d like to hide the redirections and speed up the process,
Apple recommend using NSURLConnection.

Mac App Store updates

To open the Mac App Store app and select the Updates tab, use the URL below.

Heading straight to a review form

Simply replace the ID with your app’s ID to create a URL for your app.

On a desktop or laptop, this will take you directly to the review form in iTunes for the app or item. On an iOS device,
this will open MobileSafari, then open iTunes or the App Store app on the reviews page, leaving the user only one tap away from writing a review.

Update: iOS 4.2 seems to have fixed this and links now open the App Store app directly.

To find out an item’s ID, right (Mac & PC) or control-click (Mac) on a link to the item in iTunes and select Copy Link. The result will look something like this.